Stroke Recognition:Three Easy Questions

Last week my sister sent me one of those soppy internet stories about someone who had saved a friend's life. It ended with a plea that I pass it on to others so that others' lives might be saved.

This one involved early recognition of a stroke by asking three simple questions. The whole thing looked suspicious to me, so I "Snoped" it, meaning I checked it out on Snopes.com, an invaluable resource on the web.

The advice in the story from my sister turns out to be not only correct but useful and easy. My wife has now printed off the symptoms and questions and posted them on our refrigerator.

The warning signs of a stroke are:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

The three easy questions are:

• ask the individual to smile.
• ask him or her to raise both arms.
• ask the person to speak a simple sentence.

If s/he has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately, nd
describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

There is much more valuable information, along with some informative links, at the Snopes site. I'm always concerned about false positives, myself, but these look like a good start.

You might also consider donating to the upkeep of Snopes.